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Basketball

The boys and girls basketball teams have been competing in TAPPS for over twenty years. NCTA has played in many regional playoff games and routinely places athletes on the All-State team. Then in the 2010/2011 season, the NCTA girls’ basketball team had a dream season. Beating most of their opponents by more than 40 points, the North Central Texas Lady Pioneers went on to win the 2010/11 TAPPS 1-A State Championship!

For the 2011/2012 season, there were high expectations, but both the boys and girls exceeded them all. The boys inched ever-closer to grabbing one of those Final Four slots, and the girls pulled off a very difficult accomplishment. They won the State Title for the second year in a row and earned the title “Back-to-Back” State Champions!

After graduation in 2012, the Lady Pioneers lost 4 of their 5 starters, so 2012/2013 was supposed to be a building year. With a few new students arriving on campus, a new coach with University level playing experience, and lots of hard work, everyone began to “think” the girls basketball team might be pretty good. After a few games, it became clear that it would be a very tough year, but the Lady Pioneers had set an extremely high goal of not simply being competitive . . . they wanted the State Championship for the third time. In March, 2013, the team accomplished their goal! The Lady Pioneers became 3-peat State Champions in TAPPS basketball — 2011, 2012, and 2013. This was an amazing feat!

Fast forward to the 2013/2014 basketball season. Once again, the girls lost 4 of their 5 starters at graduation, but 2-3 new students arrived, and the girls’ team began to prepare in earnest to defend their 3-year state title. On the other side, the NCTA boys’ basketball team, for the first time in its history, looked like a formidable force. Both teams began their 2013/14 season, before they had even practiced much together, by entering a 3A-5A public school tournament. While both teams put some losses on their records, the coaches were excited to see the high level of talent and teamwork, as the boys and girls competed against much larger schools.

During the first week of March, 2014, the NCTA Pioneers and Lady Pioneers had both earned berths in the Final Four TAPPS State Basketball Tournament. The girls came into the final week of the season with a 17-game winning streak and the boys with a 20-game win streak of their own! Hopes were high, but the competition was stiff. Even so, the NCTA basketball teams set some records in Texas that few, if any, have ever accomplished. Both teams won the 2014 TAPPS State Championships in basketball! For the boys, it was a first state win in the sport, and for the girls, it was history in the making, by capturing their 4th Championship in a row!

With four straight Championship wins for the girls, and with the NCTA boys capturing their first State Title, that would be accomplishment enough for most teams. But, the Pioneers were not finished! Once again, in 2015, both teams came back strong, worked hard, and for the first time ever, the NCTA boys and girls once again took home the State Championship wins. The NCTA boys now had their own “Back-to-Back” State Championships, and the girls became the reigning, 5-time State Champions in basketball.

With State setting records now on the line, both teams came into the 2015/2016 season determined to work harder than ever. After another long season, once again, the NCTA Pioneers continued to dominate 1-A basketball in the state of Texas. The NCTA trophy case and gym banners currently show what is becoming a dynasty in this sport in high school. The NCTA boys are now 3-Peat State Champions, and the NCTA lady Pioneers hold the State trophy for 6 straight years. We will see what the 2017 championships bring, but these records should last a very long time in the Texas athletics. Congratulations to both our teams!